I don't own THG and a big thanks to for-prim for being the speediest beta in the biz

Everything Annie did the next few days was filled with a certain lightness. A quality that her mind couldn't find the words for. She had actively made plans with Finnick and hadn't attempted to cancel them once. In fact, she had remained calm until the following Tuesday, which was the day of the agreed upon dinner. They had joked that Tuesday seemed to be "their day" and it was settled. Annie felt the first wave of embarrassment immediately after she had called it "their day" but Finnick glided right over her perceived awkward moment with an affirmative answer. He seemed so excited, and that made her excited. Her first bout of nerves came while at work. She was suddenly unsure if he was going to visit her that day. He had the last three weeks. Each time the door opened and the bell rang she jumped.

"I'm not gonna rob you, don't worry," Johanna's voice rang out and Annie sighed in relief.

"It's not that, I just thought you might be someone else," Annie replied. Johanna raised her eyebrows at this.

"Oh, is this when your man normally comes to visit?" Johanna teasingly asked. Annie felt a blush rising and tried her best to fight it. "I'm taking your silence as a yes. You date is tonight right?" Johanna prodded and Annie nodded, realizing that in her mind she had always referred to it as dinner or plans. Never a date. "He probably didn't want to run out of conversation topics before tonight then. Although if I were you I wouldn't be doing much talking," Johanna continued with a laugh.

"JO!" Annie exclaimed. Johanna moved further into the store, coming to stand directly in front of the counter Annie stood behind

"Relax! I'm only half joking. Now I'm here for a very specific reason. Date prep. First thing's first: where are y'all going?" Johanna asked.

"A seafood restaurant," Annie answered.

"Okay, that's doable. But remember if you order fish, especially salmon remember to bring a mint or gum for afterwards. Now, are you planning on drinking?" Johanna fired at her. She was not kidding when she said she was here for a specific reason. She was clearly a woman on a mission.

"I don't think so. That's probably not a good idea right?" Annie said, suddenly unsure of what she had in mind for the evening.

"Okay look, if he orders a beer or a drink then you can order a glass of wine or a beer or something. One, just one. I love you, but when you get going you can get going. And sweetie a lot of times I love that. Getting you drunk is a huge thrill in my life, but tonight I am putting my foot down. One drink," Johanna pounded her fist on the counter to punctuate her statement.

"One drink," Annie repeated.

"Also if you do get wine, remember you're eating seafood so order white wine. Also wear your hair down. Curl it, but pin a few of the front pieces back so it doesn't get in your face or food. Wear a dress, you have nice legs so show them off," Johanna prattled on. Annie nodded along wondering why it was so important to Johanna that she not screw this date up. But Johanna had been telling her what to do for a long time now, so she knew it was best to just shut up and wait for her to finish. Annie zoned back when she guessed Johanna was about to make her closing statement.

"Remember you are a grown woman. You are 23. You have a college degree. You have a job. You have your own apartment…" Johanna said. This snapped Annie back to attention.

"That my parents pay half my rent for," Annie said dryly. Johanna glared at her.

"I wasn't going to bring that up. I am trying to remind you of the things you have going for you. I just want you to take control of your life. Your parents help you out with that one teeny tiny aspect of your life. Whatever. Now I have to go back to work, but you better have fun tonight," Johanna said firmly, her eyes boring holes into Annie's skull; she never broke eye contact as she walked out of the store. When she was gone, Annie rolled her eyes and then dropped her head into her hands. Johanna was always spouting about how she wanted Annie to take control of her life, but Annie sometimes felt that Johanna would rather control her life.

Although she might have a point about the hair thing. She did recall Finnick complimenting her when the front half was pinned back. Annie groaned and stared at the clock. She had six hours until their date. Her date with Finnick. She breathed in and went back to stacking books.

Finnick was not freaking out. Not at all. He was breathing. He kept repeating the same thing over and over again. A mantra.

Breathe in through the nose. Out through the mouth

He was fine. He was just about to go on a date with Annie Cresta.

Annie Cresta.

A date.

A date with Annie Cresta.

He was fine. She had asked him out. It was all her idea. Finnick remembered the shock he felt his body go into during that entire conversation. He was lucky he remembered everything they agreed upon. He checked his outfit one last time and then was out the door. She had told him that her apartment complex was difficult to get around if one didn't know where he or she was going so she said to stop on Shady Brook Lane and she would meet him outside. He refused at first, the idea of making her walk outside and picking her up on a street was so ungentleman-like that he could just imagine Mags or his mother hitting him upside the head and saying that all ladies should be escorted from their door to the car, but Annie insisted vehemently. He turned onto the street minutes to seven. It was still light outside and he saw Annie standing on the sidewalk. She was wearing a peach colored dress that ended a few inches above her knees and had short fluttery sleeves. Finnick reminded himself to breathe as he pulled up beside her. He could tell he had just shocked her out of a daze when he made eye contact through the window. Her lips pulled up into a small smile and Finnick immediately threw his car into park along the curb and hopped out. She stepped backwards when she saw him round the car but he just opened the passenger door and held out his hand to her. She gently placed her hand in his as he helped her into the passenger seat. He shut the door and then quickly walked back and slid into the driver's seat.

"Hi," he said quietly, smiling at her.

"Hi," she replied, a giggle escaping her. Finnick just grinned wider. Before he put the car into drive he had to say one thing.

"Thank you for asking me to dinner. Really, thank you," he said. She looked at him right in the eyes and answered.

"You're welcome. Thank you for putting up with my stupid antics Friday night." Finnick chuckled at her statement and began to drive.

"So, you live in the village? I have a few friends that live there, but they're all so spread out." Finnick said, hoping to keep the tone light.

"I know, it's huge. But I live in the Corners. It's nice because it's so close to the jogging trail. Not that I really jog, but I do like to go on walks," Annie said quietly.

"Oh yeah, my friend Thom and I used to run together on the weekends on the trail. We haven't done that in a while though," Finnick returned.

"Hey, at least you did it. I'm the worst about doing real exercise. I love to walk, and I'll occasionally do the stationary bike but other than that nothing. It's hard for me to get motivated, except for swimming because that's more fun than anything else. My friend Marvel, on the other hand, is all about exercise. He runs, he does Insanity, and he lifts weights. The only time I've really tried to run was with him, and half a mile into it he had to leave me behind." Annie laughed at the memory. Finnick joined her.

"He just left you?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Oh no! He tried to get me to keep going but I was so out of breath. I'm pretty sure I just fell to the ground and told him to go on without me," Annie said.

Finnick spent the rest of the short ride to the restaurant listening to Annie and simultaneously imagining what other activities might make her out of breath. It was a glorious thought for him, but he needed to get out of that headspace before he sat across from her for a meal. When they arrived they were immediately seated by a hostess who did her best to try and get Finnick's attention, but Finnick didn't take his eyes off of Annie. The front pieces of her hair were pulled back, and he could see every detail of her lovely face. She looked at him across the table and blushed when she saw his intent look.

The restaurant, which was usually teeming with people on a weekend night was only a little over half full. They perused the menu, briefly mentioning what looked good before the waiter approached to take their drink order. The waiter looked to Annie who suddenly froze and looked to Finnick.

"What are you getting to drink?" she asked timidly. Finnick frowned at this. Everything had been going smoothly.

"I think I'm going to have a Coke, but please order whatever you want," Finnick reassured her. Annie nodded and turned back to the waiter.

"Sweet tea, please," She said, and her voice regained some of the confidence she had spoken with earlier. The waiter nodded and looked at Finnick, who repeated his order of Coke. The waiter left and Finnick feared that silence would overtake them, but much to his surprise Annie broke the silence. And the silence never returned.

Anything that Finnick could have imagined in his head of how this evening would go was nothing compared to the real thing. The conversation flowed based on the rapport they built during lunch breaks at the bookstore. She was an intent listener; her eyes stayed fixed on his as he spoke. It felt as if she was mesmerized by every word. Finnick could relate, as that's how he felt when she spoke. It amazed him how animated she could become when she relaxed. He tried his best to take in every single detail about her. The way her eyes scrunched and her nostrils flared when she laughed- really laughed at something. The way she bit her straw every time before taking a sip of her tea. How precise she was with her knife and fork while eating her mahi-mahi and dirty rice. The food was delicious, but Finnick hardly paid any mind to the taste when she was sitting across from him. She told stories about her friends, and their lives post-college. He told her about how an art history class turned into him working as a public relations intern at a museum that eventually led him down the path he was currently on.

"I actually met Peeta in that class and then found out later that he was from Dallas as well," Finnick told her.

She had him practically doubled in laughter when she told him about a movement class she had taken in college.

"It was part self-defense, part tai chi, and part animal forms. I was NOT prepared for it. At all," she said, shaking her head and biting her straw.

"What are animal forms?" Finnick couldn't help but ask. Annie smiled at him and his stomach flipped.

"They're like ancient Chinese animal forms, I think. We had to learn movements and dances for each one. You know, there's tiger, monkey, mantis, dragon, and some bird that I don't remember. But we had to learn them and perform them as solos for our final. It was by far the strangest class I'd ever taken. It was really fun, but our teacher was a retired circus performer so he was a little out there. He kept telling us that we needed to open our assholes," Annie said, chuckling. Finnick practically spit out the shrimp that he had just popped in his mouth. She laughed at him, eyes crinkled and nostrils slightly flared.

When the check came, Finnick immediately reached for it. Annie thanked him.

"It's my pleasure. I'm just so glad to spend an evening with you," Finnick said, watching the blush climb up Annie's face.

Finnick had absolutely no expectations for the end of the date. He could dream and fantasize, but he knew that he couldn't count on anything happening. So much to his surprise, on the drive back Annie directed him into her apartment complex, explaining the various turns that he would need to make. When he pulled into a parking spot and offered to walk her to her door, he was even more surprised that she accepted. He got out out the car and walked around only to find that Annie had beaten him to her door. She smirked at him.

"I appreciate it, I really do, but I can get my own door from the inside," she said. He smiled sheepishly at her. They walked side-by-side, Finnick's hands shoved in his pockets. He didn't want to push his luck and try something stupid like holding her hand, even though that was pretty much all he wanted to do. The walk was silent, but there was electricity between the two. He knew it; he knew that this was something real. He couldn't be the only one feeling it. He turned his head to look at Annie and his eyes met hers. Neither looked away. Annie slowed her steps and Finnick followed suit. Annie nodded to behind him.

"This is me," she said. Finnick deflated. He didn't want this night to end. He stepped to the side and turned to her door. She stepped forward and moved closer to Finnick. His breath caught in his throat. His eyes dropped to her lips and then went back to her eyes. She was looking at him. Finnick suddenly had no idea what to do. None. He was at a loss until Annie spoke.

"Will you visit me on Thursday?" she practically whispered. Finnick nodded his yes. He didn't trust his voice to work properly. Annie leaned up and pressed a kiss on Finnick's cheek, so dangerously close to his lips that he couldn't help letting a gasp escape from them. Annie stepped back and immediately slid her key into the lock and opened her door.

"Goodnight Finnick," she murmured. Finnick cleared his throat.

"Uh, night. Night, Annie," he said, and with one last smile she disappeared behind her door.

Finnick stood outside her door waiting for his heartbeat to return to normal, and when this seemed to be a pointless task he began the trek back to his car. His steps were lighter than ever. There was an endless amount of clichés that could be said for how he felt in this moment. He was walking on air. He felt weightless. The entire drive home he was in such a daze, nothing registered until he opened the door to his apartment and was greeted with the sight of Peeta and Katniss making out on the couch in the middle of the living room. Finnick loudly cleared his throat to alert the two to his presence. Katniss ripped herself away from Peeta at the sound. Peeta looked around for a bit before his eyes landed on Finnick.

"I see you two have made up. Don't worry I'll just be in my room," Finnick said. He headed straight to his room, barely concealing his grin. He was happy for his friend. He really was, but he wished he could have talked with him about Annie. Finnick still hadn't told Peeta what was going on. He didn't want to feel foolish if things crashed and burned. It had only been four days since Annie ran from him at a bar. Finnick deemed their date to be very successful if the kiss on the cheek was any indication. When Finnick entered his room he walked over to his closet to put his shoes up and then fell back onto his bed. He knew he would get very little sleep tonight, with thoughts of her lips on his skin and seeing her on Thursday on repeat in his brain.

A knock on her door startled Annie. She had been sitting at her kitchen table, if the term kitchen was used lightly, staring at the same article in a magazine for about fifteen minutes. She looked at the door.

It couldn't be… could it? Could he have come back?

Annie stood up and cautiously walked to the door, her hand trembling in anticipation until a voice killed any suspicions she may have had.

"Annie! I know you're in there! Open Up," Marvel shouted through the door. Annie's shoulders sagged. She realized how badly she had been hoping it was Finnick coming back to kiss her, hug her, or something. She just wanted him to touch her, and at the same time she was so grateful that he hadn't tried anything. He was the epitome of a perfect gentleman throughout the entire evening, which in turn probably caused these feelings to flare up within her.

Annie opened the door to a smiling Marvel.

"So, how did the big date go?" he asked, his grin widened.

"How do you know he's not still here?" Annie asked, popping her hip out to the side. Marvel laughed and pushed past her into her apartment.

"I know you. This was a guy that you only let come visit you at work, I figured you probably weren't going to invite him in on the first date," he said, turning to Annie. "Besides, this isn't sophomore year." Annie's cheeks colored at his words. Unfortunately, in college Annie had fallen victim to a few phases, including one short-lived party girl phase.

"Yeah because you made great decisions when you were twenty. I still stand by the belief that my few indiscretions were in direct retaliation to having my heart broken by you," Annie replied snippily. Marvel frowned. He hadn't intended to hurt her feelings. He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, you know I don't mean anything. Why don't we sit and you can tell me all about your gentleman caller," he said softly while leading her to the little loveseat that was in her living room.

"So tell me, do you like him?" Marvel asked once they were both situated. Annie bit back a smile and nodded.

"I do. I really do," she answered.

Thanks for reading!