Coffee and Classics
Hey guys! This was a fun chapter to write, and something happens that you've all been waiting for and commenting about. I hope it lives up to your expectations! Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites and follows! You guys are seriously amazing.
I do not own The Hunger Games.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Peeta is exhausted the next day, whether from our all nighter at the hospital the day before or it's his nightmares, he doesn't leave my bed. So I stay there with him. We spend the whole day inside, barely clothed, him in his boxers briefs and me in one of his t-shifts and a pair of his boxers; reading books, playing cards or napping. With the occasional make out session. We only leave the bed to go to the bathroom or get the door when our Chinese arrives. I bring it back to the bed and Peeta instantly digs in.
"God, this is delicious," he says, popping a veggie egg roll in his mouth. "It tastes almost as good as you do." He lifts his eyes to me and winks. My thighs pulse but I glare at him.
"Baby, you are going to need to learn to take a compliment," he says, setting down the sweet and sour chicken container he has in his hand on my nightstand. He crawls towards me on the other side of the bed, where I sit cross legged. "Because I going to be giving them a lot." He leans in until he's an inch away. "About how you taste." He plants a soft, lingering kiss my lips. "How you smell." He kisses my neck. "How you look." He kisses my forehead. "How you feel when your muscles clamp around me." He leans down and plants a wet kiss on my inner thigh, and looks up to me.
"You have no idea how sexy you look in my clothes." He takes the container in my hand and sets it on the floor, next to the bed. I watch him transfixed. "But now, it's time for them to come off." My skin flushes at his words and I decide to make the first move and jump on him, tackling him on to the bed, and claiming his mouth with mine.
We hear the front door smash open, and Prim yells my name. "KATNISS!"
I scurry off Peeta and grab the sweet and sour chicken off the nightstand, trying to look natural and like I wasn't about to just jump my boyfriend. Peeta chuckles and lays down on the bed next to me and wraps his arm around my hips, completely unfazed by the situation, and places his other hand on his still bare chest. Prim barges in my room seconds later. She glares at us on the bed.
"You could at least pretend like you didn't stay in bed and bang all day!" She yells, fuming. Wow, she's never this mad.
"Prim, settle down. What's going on?" Peeta asks, sitting up on the bed and looking at her, worry sparkling in his blue eyes. She flops down on out bed, anger gone and sadness replacing it.
"Rory. He broke up with me." And then she bursts into tears. Before I can even breathe, Peeta crosses the bed and picks her up and places her on his lap; cradling her like a baby.
"Primmy, I'm sorry. So very sorry. The first heartache feels like you'll never breathe again." He plants a kiss on the top of her head as she buries her face into his shoulder, her body trembling with sobs. "Did he say why, honey?" He moves his hand down her soft blonde hair, all the way down her back.
My heart pounds in my ears. Watching Peeta with my sister has me reeling. He is so sweet with her. He holds her to his chest and whispers words of reassurance; one hand around her back and the other rubbing her arm or petting her hair, switching between different comforting movements. My chest feels like it's going to explode. Watching Peeta with my sister has made me realize it. He's cherishing her as if she was his own sister, and I can't handle it.
Oh my God, I'm in love with him.
I move over to them on the bed, placing a hand in the middle of Peeta's back. I lean over his shoulder and look into his blue eyes. They're filling with sadness. Sadness for Prim. God, I love him. I smile a little at my realization and Peeta's eyebrows furrow at me. Oh right, Prim's in distress. Prim continues to cry into Peeta's shoulder.
"He said he likes me too much and didn't want to hurt me, but he wanted to have sex. And he knew I wasn't ready. How dumb is that?!" She screams into his shoulder and tightly grips his arm—it looks painful, but Peeta doesn't seem to mind. "Maybe I should have just had sex with him. Then I wouldn't have lost him." I'm about to explode in anger at her words, but Peeta looks at me and gives a shake off his head; I back down. Instead, I reach for the hand that grips Peeta and hold it in both of mine.
"Prim, no." Peeta says simply, and she pulls he head out of his shoulder and looks up at him. He lifts his left hand to her face and wipes the tears away with his thumb. "You aren't ready. You just said that yourself. And you shouldn't have sex until you are ready." He takes a deep breath. "I know you cared for Rory, that's obvious. But if he wasn't willing to wait for you, then he wasn't good enough for you. And I truly mean that, Prim. You're smart and beautiful and caring and you will find a guy who sees that and he will wait as long as you want."
Prim tries to smile through her tears at him, but it dies in the middle as her sobs come back full force. Her cries and words of exasperation and sadness continue for quite some time, but Peeta continue to hold her, never tired and never ceasing his comforting movement. After a while, Prim asks for a cup of water and I get up and go to the kitchen to bring her one. When on my way back and a few steps away from my door, I hear a whispering conversation and stop in my tracks.
"—I'm glad you're with her, Peeta. She needs someone to help her, even if she won't admit it. She needs someone to love her." Prim's voice is small and she gasps through her words, still crying.
"I do love her. And I will be here as long as she wants me to be." Peeta's voice cracks at the last word, filled with sadness.
"I hope its forever. Because I want you to be my brother." Peeta barks out a quiet laugh.
"I'd like that too." I hear him say. Panic spikes my pulse. Marriage? Holy fuck. "But it's too soon to think about that." I take a deep breath, relaxing, and walk back into the room. Prim and Peeta both look at me. I walk over to them and stand near them, looking down at their intertwined bodies.
"Thanks, Katniss," Prim says as she takes the water I hand over to her. She drains it quickly. "And thanks Peeta. I know you didn't plan on me ruin your relaxing day."
"It's fine," Peeta and I say in sync. We look at each other; Peeta smiles and I chuckle a little. I move my eyes back to Prim.
"Seriously, Prim. You can come to me whenever you need it, you know that," I say. Then I look down at Peeta as he looks at Prim. "You can come to us." I say, emphasizing the last word. I run my fingers through his blonde hair—trying to convey that I love him without saying the words. He smiles at me, his eyes big and blue and his nose crinkling. I bend down and plant a soft kiss on the edge of his mouth. Then I look back at Prim.
"Thanks, Kat. You're the best sister in the world."
"No, you are," I tease, trying to relieve the sadness still in her face. She sticks her tongue out at me and we all laugh. Prim's tears have stopped and she moves off Peeta's lap, standing up.
"I'm gonna go read in my room for a bit." She says.
"Okay, Prim, whatever you want. I'll make your favorite tonight, baked mac and cheese, right? And Katniss will go out and get some Ben & Jerry's. And we'll watch Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink, sound good?" Peeta says with a smile.
A smile takes over Prim's red, tearstained face too and she gives a quick nod; then turns and walks out the door, closing it behind her. Peeta grabs my hand from where he's sitting on the bed and pulls me down to the bed until I'm sitting next to him. He lays back down on the pillow and grabs me, moving me so I'm straddling his lap, but he doesn't make a move to take off my clothes, he just looks up at my face, smiling, resting his hands on sides. He lets his fingers trickle up and down my sides and arms and back. We just sit there, his gaze never leaving my face and it's over ten minutes until my eyebrows furrow in confusion. He's not even at "attention". He's just looking at me. It's creepin' a bit.
"What are you doing exactly?" I ask. I move my hands off his and begin to move my fingertips up and down his sculpted chest. I start at his neck, and move down to pecs, rubbing his nipples with my thumbs. Peeta lets out a blissful sigh and I continue; my fingers slowly trail down his stomach my fingers running the lines of his abs. His torso is strong and thick, and not overly muscled; it's simply mouthwatering.
"I just wanted to be near you," he says, stilling my hands before they dip into his underwear. He grabs them, and intertwines our fingers and brings them to his lips; planting soft kisses on each one of my fingers. I smile down at him. And I want to tell him how I feel, but the words are stuck in my throat.
"I would choose Jake Ryan, hands down."
Peeta stuffs a handful of popcorn in his mouth and turns to me. "Wouldn't you? If you had to pick between the two of them. He's way better than Blaine." Prim and I erupt in laughter; Peeta smiles us and turns his face back to the TV.
After Peeta and I finally left my room, after he held me to his chest for an hour, we went to the grocery store to buy ingredients for dinner and to pick up ice cream. Peeta wanted Cherry Garcia, but I talked him out of it with deep kisses in the middle of the aisle, and we ended up getting Chunky Monkey and Red Velvet Cake.
After dinner, which was mouth-watering, we piled into the living room; Prim and I on the couch and Peeta on the floor, leaning his back against the couch between my legs and watched Sixteen Candles. We ate ice cream and laughed and chatted, but eventually it ended, and Peeta got up to make us all popcorn while Prim put in Pretty in Pink.
"I agree," Prim says, grabbing more popcorn from the bowl between the two of us. "Jake Ryan was never embarrassed to be with Sam."
"I like them both. But I have to say, I'd choose Jake too," I say as I run my fingers through Peeta messy hair. I'm so glad he sat on the floor so I can do this. Peeta leans his head back further and smiles up at me; I smile back and graze my thumb along his scar.
Just after two, the movie ends and we disperse to our bedrooms for bed. I pull on Peeta's shirt again, pull off my bra through the arm hole, and crawl into bed where he lays in his normal bed attire of boxer briefs. I curl up against him, my head on his shoulder and my palm flat on his chest and take a deep breath; Peeta kisses the top of my head and moves his arm so his fingers intertwine with mine on his chest and begins to relax. I move my head up, finding Peeta looking down at me and press a light kiss to his soft lips, before tilting my head back to his shoulder.
"I love you, Katniss," he exhales, rubbing circles on my lower back with his thumb. He takes another deep breath and I begin to fall asleep, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
I look down at my hands, and see that they're covered in blood. An evil grin spreads across my face, and I look up and see my Dad on the concrete, his blood pouring out from the back of his head. I cackle, and look to my right and see my mother, her legs and arms bent in awkward angles, her clothes soaked in blood. I squeal in delight.
"I did this," I say with a smile. "I killed them!"
"Katniss, wake up! What is going on?! Katniss, baby, wake up!" My eyes pop open and I see Peeta looking in my eyes. Oh no, my nightmares are back. My body is completely drenched in sweat, my throat is hoarse from screaming, and my legs splayed out across the bed. It was stupid for me to think they wouldn't return eventually. I begin shaking, trying to hold back the tears, but I can't and they begin to run down my cheeks. "Oh, baby." Peeta leans down and wraps his arms around me.
I continue to ball, unable to make myself stop. Pull yourself together, Katniss! I chastise myself, but it doesn't work—loud sobs continue to rack my chest. I'm frozen, I can't move my limbs but Peeta still holds onto me, gripping me like I'm his lifeline.
"It's my fault. I killed them. I killed my parents," I sob into Peeta's shoulder. He pulls back and looks down to my face.
"What are you talking about Katniss? Prim said it was a car accident. That can't be your fault." He moves us so we're both on our sides and hugs me again.
"They were rushing to see me. At my stupid archery competition." I sob at hit, practically screaming.
"Shhh. Baby, that doesn't make it your fault. They were hit by a drunk driver. It's his fault. Not yours." He kisses my forehead and runs his hands up and down my back.
But his words and actions don't help. I continue to scream and cry into shoulder, unable to stop.
"Just run away, Peeta," I scream at him. He pulls away slightly so he can look into my eyes.
"Why would I do that, Katniss?"
"Because I will hurt you. I hurt everybody. You should stay away."
"I love you. I'm not going to run away. You can break my heart over and over again and it will still be the greatest day of my life because I will have been near you." He swipes his hands across my face, removing my tears and kisses me on the cheek, then cups my face in his big, soft hands. "I love you."
My tears finally start to ease, and my screams stop entirely. For the next half an hour, Peeta holds me to him, kissing my neck and mumbling words of reassurance. He is so genuinely good. And I know I don't deserve him. He deserves someone who will love him unconditionally and wait on him and be loving and not hostile. He deserves the girl next door, not the bitch down the street. But for selfish reasons, I can't let him go.
I need to tell him.
I pull away and look into his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"I love you," I whisper, my voice still threading with sobs and the final tears slipping out of the corner of my eyes. Now that the shock has worn off, I'm finally able to move my limbs again. I lift my left hand and place it on his neck, fingering the big freckle he has there. "I love you, Peeta."
He freezes for a second, then his eyes become glassy and smile lights up his entire face. "I love you, Katniss." He moves a few inches and kisses my lips, still smiling. His arms tighten around me and he moves his mouth across my face, planting soft kisses on every inch of it. When he reaches my lips again, he whispers against them, "I'm so glad you feel it too."
I try to smile through the sadness still left behind from my nightmare, and succeed. When he looks at me like that, it's hard not to feel anything but happiness. He blue eyes are shining, his nose is crinkled and white teeth gleam in the moonlight.
"I'll always be here Katniss. I'll help you through your nightmares like you help me through mine."
I shyly nod, and he kisses me again, deep and soft, our lips melding together. I try to pour all my love into this kiss, and he seems to be doing the same.