The Inevitable

Part Two- Mellark

I woke up with a smile on my face. There was a relaxing warmth in the pit of my stomach. I nuzzled my face deeper into my cotton sheets, and exhaled deeply. As I turned onto my back with my eyes closed, I started replaying images from last night in my head. Dark hair and piercing eyes, our legs tangled together. Her gravely moan as she came undone from my touch. I slowly reached out, wanting to feel her satin skin again. My hand found purchase on the cold sheets. She was gone. The girl I silently pined after for all of high school. Heck, I had liked the girl since Kindergarten, before she had turned into this untouchable woman. But she had been. She was, last night. And now she's gone.

I spent half of my weekend debating with myself if I should try to find her. The other half I beat myself up for taking advantage of her. I was such an ass. I should have just driven her to her house. Instead, I probably ruined any chance I had. It was simultaneously the best and worst decision of my life.

On Monday, I woke before the sun did. I quickly got dressed and made my way to the bakery. Finnick was unlocking the door when I pulled up. "Hey man." He was always chipper, always smiling. I was a morning person, but he sure took it to a whole new level.

"Hey." I greeted him before we went in. I flipped on the lights as we walked through the bakery.

"So I saw you leave with that girl at the bar. What's the story?"

"Need another secret already Finn?"

"They keep me alive Pete." I laughed as I pulled out the ingredients we would need. "So?" He pushed.

"There's nothing to tell." I clenched my jaw and gathered the mixing bowls and pans.

"Oh come on man. I saw the way you looked at her." He wiggled his eyebrows. I sighed and shook my head. He grew serious then, "What happened Peeta?"

"It was Katniss Everdeen." I mumbled. His brows furrowed trying to remember how he knew that name. His eyes widened when he figured it out.

"No. Not the Katniss Everdeen."

I nodded solemnly, my head bowed.

"What happened?"

"It was great. The-" I swallowed roughly almost choking on my spit, "It was the best night of my life." I'm sure he was expecting more. All the gory details.

"Then why are you so down?" He asked as he began to dump ingredients in a bowl. He was preparing the bear claws.

I dumped flour into my own bowl. "It was great. She was-" I paused, my eyes unfocused as I thought back to that night, "amazing," I breathed.

"Then what's the issue?"

I rolled out the dough and folded grated cheese into it to prepare the cheese buns. Then I answered him, "When I woke up, she was gone."

"Oh." He started another recipe after he set the bear claw dough to rise. "She didn't leave a note? Or call?"

I shook my head. We didn't talk much after that. I was lost in my thoughts. I let all my frustration out when I kneaded the dough. Soon it was set and ready to cut into sections to be placed on the cookie sheets. As I prepared the pastries, Finnick set up the front of the shop. By the time the pastries were baked and the second round were in the ovens, our hired help was here. We had three kids working in the back keeping an eye on the equipment and making new orders, and two in front helping with customers. I wasn't sure it was going to be enough for the busy Monday. By the time the store was ready to open, there was already a line of people waiting to get in.

"I guess everyone saw the competition." Finnick smirked.

"I guess so," I reply as I straighten the rows of pastries in the glass display case.

Everyone was extremely busy. It was like a tug-of-war; I was pulled into the back to make more product. Then I was pulled to the front to help customers. After one unusual order I was frazzled. I was burning at both ends, and it was only the first hour after opening. I called for the next customer without looking up. I was concerned with the receipts I was jotting down, making sure everything lined up for the books.

"What can I get you?" I asked still scribbling frantically.

"What do you recommend?" A soft female voice broke over the ruckus. I sighed heavily, great, another first time customer that doesn't know shit about the menu. My heart stopped, then jumped into my throat when I glanced at the offender.

"K-Katniss?" I blushed at my stutter. I could tell my eyes were comically wide. What was she doing here? Did she come to see me? To apologize for leaving?

Her eyes were clouded with confusion. Her head tilted to the side. Then her eyes widened as well. "Peeta?" Yes, she does remember. Then why did she look so confused? She must have known it was me. She's in my bakery after all. "Wow," she breathed. "I haven't seen you since high school! How have you been?"

High school? What? But- I thought... I could feel my face fall. She doesn't remember. She doesn't remember coming home with me. Moaning my name. None of it. I shook my head to clear away my thoughts. "What?"

"How have you been?" She repeated, her eyebrows lifted.

I swallowed, my throat was suddenly parched. "Good." I murmured.

There was an awkward lull in the conversation. "I should have recognized the bakery. I can't believe you still work here."

"Actually I own it now." My chest filled with pride.

"Congratulations." She lifted her lips away from her signature scowl.

"Hey, Kat, not to be a buzz kill on your reunion, but we're kinda on a tight schedule." The blonde beside Katniss spoke, almost like a mother redirecting her child.

"You're right, sorry Prim." Prim? Katniss' sister? Wow. She's grown so much.

Prim looked pointedly at me with her crystal blue eyes. "I'll take one of your now famous cinnamon rolls." She smiled.

Quickly returning to business, I nodded. I couldn't (or shouldn't) dwell on my silly hurt feelings. I pulled a roll from the display case and bagged it. "What would you like, Katniss?" So my question had a double meaning to it. So what? It wasn't like I was secretly hoping she would say me. Yes, I was.

She licked at her raw, red lips and gazed at the display case. "I'll take one of those." She said it like a question, pointing to one of the buns.

"A cheese bun?" I confirmed.

She blushed and nodded. I bagged up the bun and put it with Prim's roll. I rang up their total and Katniss practically shoved money in my face and ran out the door with her sister tagging along behind her. I couldn't focus wholly on work for the rest of the day. I would try to be mentally present, but Katniss snuck into my thoughts more times than I could count. Did she remember or not? Would I ever see her again?

Finn and I arrived at the bakery before anyone else, and left far later than them too. I waited patiently for Finn to finish today's inventory. I had already accounted for our receipts and recorded them into the books.

"Everything's about right Pete." Finnick relayed as he stepped out of the pantry.

I nodded. "Everything's more than right Finn."

"Yeah?" He came to the desk I was sitting at.

"We made more than our monthly quota in one day." I was still in awe. "I even counted twice because I didn't believe myself the first time."

"Wow," he was stunned too.

"If things keep going this way we could open another venue. Maybe across town."

"This is fantastic Peeta! We have to go out to celebrate." He clapped his hands together.

"How about a rain check. Aren't you tired? I'm exhausted."

He chuckled as we moved throughout the store, turning the lights off. "Yeah I am pretty drained. Rain check sounds good." He clapped me on the back as we locked up.

That night I fought with myself. I went over everything again and again. How drunk was she when she stumbled into me? Her words weren't slurred at all, but she sure was unsteady on her feet. I thought it was my good fortune that she happened to fall into me. Maybe I was wrong. Could she have been drunk enough not to remember me? Did she even know who she went home with?

I went back and forth. Should I call her? Should I try? It was just too confusing. I had liked her since ages ago, and I finally summoned the courage to talk to her. It was just my luck that she didn't remember. So I decide, just like I had after high school, that I needed to move on and focus on myself. Katniss was still a dream even though we had one night of reality. I would remember it, and cherish it, but I also had to lock it away. The most important thing right now is the bakery. Business was finally picking up after the recession. I wasn't going to mess up the chances of opening another shop.

That week was a blur. I came home exhausted every night. I even had to hire on a few new people. I was just relieved that they picked it up so soon, because I did not have the energy to train them for a week. The shop was busy non-stop. Some days we had lines out the front door. We even ran out of supplies and had to tell everyone to come back the next day.

By the end of the month it was still crazy. I took the bakery's finances to an accountant to see if I could afford another location. I already had my eye on a place that looked promising. When the accountant told me I could completely pay off the mortgage from the shop I already had, and open another, I was beyond ecstatic. Within the next couple days, Finnick and I contacted the bank for the small business loan and the realtor for the space I wanted.

Opening a new shop was something my father and I had always dreamed about. I was excited to finally make that dream a reality for him. He had put his heart and soul into this business, especially after my mother left him. He was going to be so surprised when I tell him.

On my day off, I made my way to my father's house. I knocked on the door lightly and waited for him to answer. He opened the door and smiled softly when he saw that it was me. I stepped through the door and hugged my dad, patting him gently on the back.

"Peeta, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here, son?" He asked, clapping me on my shoulder.

"I've got some news dad." I made my way to the living room and sat down on the lumpy couch. I ran my hand over the fabric. This couch had been in the family since I was a young boy.

"Oh yeah?" He questioned as he sat down across from me.

"Yeah, it's about the bakery."

His stubborn smile started to fade from his lips. "Is it bad news son?"

I shook my head with a wide grin. "Not dad. It's actually very good."

"Well, come out with it then." He chuckled.

"I'm opening another store across town."

His eyes widened, and his jaw slightly slackened. He was speechless. "P-Peeta…" He swallowed, "This is amazing."

My smile broadened. "I know. I'm hoping to have it up by the end of the year. The place needs a little work, but the bank gave me a loan to help with that."

"I don't know what to say, Peeta."

"You don't have to say anything Pop, this is for you."

"Peeta, I can't express how…how…" He was choking on his words with tears brimming his eyes.

"I know, dad. It's okay." I stood up to cross the room so that I could embrace my father. His hand gripped the back of my neck and shook me slightly. "There is one condition I would like to discuss."

"What's that?"

"Ownership." I paused. "I would like to bring Finnick into it, permanently, legally."

"Of course, Peeta, that boy has been a son to me."

I was pleased that it didn't take more convincing for him to agree. "That's great. I can get the lawyers to draw up a new contract."

"How soon can they do it, do you think?"

"Oh Abernathy can do it within a few days, I'm sure." I shook my head, and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. Now all I had to do was get the contracts drawn up and tell Finnick.

A couple days later Mr. Abernathy had delivered the contracts, and he said all he needed were our signatures. I was elated, so I called up Finn and asked him if he wanted to grab a drink. We decided on The Arena at eight o'clock. The Arena is a new club that opened up just a few months ago. This would be the first time Finnick or I had gone.

It was crowded when I got there, but I easily spotted Finnick at the bar. I had the contracts in a manila envelope which I placed on the countertop when I reached him. "Hey Odair."

"Mellark." His dimples appeared when he smirked. "What's the occasion?"

"I've got another secret for you buddy."

His smirked extended across his face. "Oh yeah? What might that be?"

"It's all in here." I patted the envelope. I pushed it towards him then called for the bartender. "I'll take a scotch. Neat." The bartender nodded and poured the drink. I turned back to Finnick and waited for him to open the folder.

He knocked back the rest of his drink and tentatively reached for the package. He opened it and pulled out the contents. He scanned over the writing, his eyebrows furrowed. Then I watched as his eyes slowly widened and his mouth gaped. I smiled and quirked my eyebrow.

He shook his head, "No."

"Yes."

"No, I can't accept this, Pete." He shook his head wildly back and forth.

"Yes you can, and you will."

He put the contract back on the bar. "Peeta…"

"Finnick, you have been so much help, and you're always at the bakery even if you don't need to be, and you're my best friend. Please just accept this."

He looked back at the papers, "Thank you Peeta. This is…wow."

I took a sip from my scotch and laughed at his expression. "I needed to do this Finn. You've got Annie, and a baby on the way. I wanted to help in the only way I knew how."

"How the fuck are you my best friend Peeta? You should be off with people who volunteer and do charity, and donate shit. This is too much."

I laughed and clapped him on the back. "I'd do anything for you Odair."

"Me too, Mellark. Me too."